Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Fear

Recently a question was posed to me.

How do you get the courage to confront your fear?

Hmmm. Good question.

Fear can come at us in some interesting ways.

Boldly, like a car bearing down on you, making your heart race and you scramble for some way to escape. Or quietly, like a thief in the night, sneaky and subtle, robbing you of any sense of peace.

As a suspense writer I get to have my characters face some fearful situations;

a known mob boss vows to kill my heroine in Double Jeopardy,





a saboteur tries to blow my heroine up in Double Cross,



someone tries to frame my heroine for
murder in Double Threat Christmas


and in my upcoming June release, Her Last Chance, my heroine has amnesia and doesn't know why someone wants her dead.


But what about fear that doesn't have to do with circumstances beyond our control?


Like the fear of commitment, or the fear of success? The fear of being hurt or rejected?



The Bible teaches us that fear is not from God. I think this refers to the internal fears we battle, not the situational fears of our circumstances.


Sometimes walking through the fear is the way to find God's purpose for our lives.


Sometimes fear is a signal from God that this is the path He wants us to take.


So in answer to the question: How do you get your courage to confront your fear? I look to God's word.


In the book of Isaiah chapter 41 verse 10, this is God's answer to fear.

'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you in my righteous right hand.'

4 comments:

Edna said...

I light to read mysteries but I am afraid of almost everything. I was terrified until it made me sick of storms, I could hear the first part of the week that one might come at the end of the week, not this was just a bad thunder storm, but with God's help and some medication I am not as bad as I used to be. Ask and ye shall recieve.

mamat2730(at)charter(dot)net

Debby Giusti said...

Terri,
Fear holds us back and often keeps us from stepping out in faith. When I'm worried about a problem, I mumble the little prayer, "Jesus, I trust in you."

Knowing He's in charge takes away my fear.

Terri Reed said...

Edna, yes asking is key. I hope that as the storms of life come you will continue to ask God for his strenght and comfort.

Debby,
yes, fear definitely holds us back, but as you said, knowing He's charge can take the fear away.

Merry said...

Isaiah 41:10 is a great promise from God's Word. When I face uncertainty or something that makes me fearful I claim II Timothy 1:7 "For God hath not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and a sound mind." Praise God for His peace in the face of fear!